Shaping undergarment and method of its manufacture

ABSTRACT

A shaping undergarment includes a front panel and a rear panel connected thereto, forming an undergarment having first and second hip regions. A frictional band attached to the undergarment extends along at least a portion of the rear panel between the first and second hip regions. The frictional band may extend substantially continuously between the first and second hip regions, and, in certain embodiments of the invention, may be a single continuous band. When worn, the frictional band frictionally engages the wearer&#39;s skin to uplift and extend the wearer&#39;s buttocks. The frictional band may be totally or partially obscured from view. The material properties of the frictional band, such as its coefficient of friction with skin and elastic modulus, and its path along the undergarment, may be designed to achieve a particularly aesthetically pleasing result for the wearer of the shaping undergarment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.provisional application no. 60/833,195, filed Jul. 25, 2006, theentirety of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference as fullyset forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to garments. More particularly,the present invention relates to an undergarment for enhancing theappearance of a wearer's buttocks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Individuals often rely upon their garments to enhance their appearance.At its simplest, this process can involve wearing particular patterns orfabrics that create an illusion of a particular appearance. For example,vertical stripes make the wearer appear slimmer.

Special garments may also be used to enhance both the size andpresentation of certain body parts. For example, undergarments, such ascorsets and girdles, have long been used to reshape a person's figure.To a certain extent, these special garments can change the shape andproportion of the wearer's body parts in order to create a moreaesthetically pleasing appearance.

In striving for a callipygian ideal, many shaping garments enhance theappearance of the wearer's buttocks by uplifting. These extantundergarments, however, often have the undesirable effect ofsimultaneously flattening the wearer's buttocks, thereby spoiling theindividual's natural figure. Alternatively, some extant garments shapethrough padding, which also spoils the individual's natural figure.Further, though they may provide the wearer with a more aestheticallypleasing appearance, the undergarment itself is often not aestheticallyappealing.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an aesthetically pleasingshaping undergarment that enhances the appearance of the wearer'sbuttocks without spoiling the individual's natural figure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a shapingundergarment that enhances and augments the appearance of the wearer'sbuttocks by uplifting while simultaneously preserving a natural shape ofthe buttocks.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide anundergarment that shapes the wearer's buttocks without the use ofpadding.

It is another object of the present invention to provide anaesthetically pleasing shaping undergarment.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a shapingundergarment that provides customizable shaping and support.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a shaping undergarmentincludes a front panel and a rear panel connected thereto. The front andrear panel together form an undergarment having a first hip region and asecond, opposite hip region. The undergarment may also include legextensions to support the wearer's legs below the buttocks. Attached tothe undergarment and extending along at least a portion of the rearpanel between the first and second hip regions is a frictional band. Thefrictional band grips (that is, frictionally engages) the wearer's skinin order to uplift and extend (that is, augment) the wearer's buttocksto provide a more aesthetically pleasing shape without spoiling thenatural appearance of the wearer's buttocks. The frictional band may betotally or partially obscured from view, for example via the rear panelor via a camouflaging feature such as a lace trim, in order that theshaping undergarment be aesthetically pleasing. An end of the frictionalband may be removably attached to the undergarment, thereby permittingthe frictional band to be adjusted to the wearer's liking.

The shaping undergarment may be manufactured by attaching the frontpanel to the rear panel, either via a seam or seamlessly. This forms anundergarment of generally familiar appearance and having first andsecond hip regions. The frictional band may then be attached to theundergarment extending along at least a portion of the rear panelbetween the first and second hip regions. The frictional band may extendsubstantially continuously between the first and second hip regions,and, in certain embodiments of the invention, may be a single continuousband. The material properties of the frictional band, such as itsthickness, width, coefficient of friction with skin, and elasticmodulus, as well as the path of the frictional band along theundergarment and the point or points at which the frictional band isattached to the undergarment, may be selected, designed, and adjusted toachieve a particularly aesthetically pleasing result for the wearer ofthe shaping undergarment.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the shapingundergarment is a buttocks-shaping clothing article including anundergarment and means for frictionally engaging and uplifting awearer's buttocks attached to a rear panel of the undergarment.

There have thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments ofthe invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein maybe better understood, and in order that the present contribution to theart may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additionalembodiments of the invention that will be described below and which willform the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to the details of construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments inaddition to those described and of being practiced and carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for thepurpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conceptionupon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view illustrating a shaping undergarmentaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shaping undergarment including legextensions.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a shaping undergarment illustrating frictionalbands in single or multiple band form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present inventive apparatus is illustrated inFIG. 1. A shaping undergarment 10 generally includes a front panel 12and a rear panel 14 attached to front panel 12. Together, front panel 12and rear panel 14 form an undergarment 16 including a first (i.e., left)hip region 18 and a second, opposite (i.e., right) hip region 20.Undergarment 16 is of generally familiar configuration and appearance,having a waist opening 22 at an upper portion thereof and two legopenings 24, 26 at a lower portion thereof. In some embodiments of theinvention, for example, a bikini-style undergarment 16, first and secondhip regions 18, 20 are adjacent to waist opening 22, though otherconfigurations and styles of undergarment 16 are regarded as within thespirit and scope of the present invention. Undergarment 16 furtheroptionally includes first and second leg extensions 27 a and 27 bextending downwardly from leg openings 24 and 26, respectively, in orderto lend support to the wearer's upper legs.

To shape the wearer's buttocks, a frictional band 28 is attached to orembedded in undergarment 16 extending along at least a portion of rearpanel 14 between first hip region 18 and second hip region 20. One ofskill in the art will appreciate that attachment between frictional band28 and undergarment 16 may be by sewing, gluing, taping,melt-processing, or any other suitable method.

In some embodiments of the invention, frictional band 28 extendssubstantially continuously from first hip region 18 to second hip region20, and may extend adjacent at least one of first and second legopenings 24,26. In other embodiments, frictional band 28 extends onlyalong first and second leg openings 24, 26 (that is, frictional band maynot extend all the way to either or both of first and second hip regions18, 20).

While frictional band 28 may be a single band 30 (FIG. 3) extendingbetween first and second hip regions 18, 20, frictional band 28 mayoptionally include multiple discrete pieces 32 (FIG. 3), which may beeither connected to each other, such as by sewing, gluing, tapingmelt-processing, or another method, or disconnected from each other. Itis also contemplated that frictional band 28 may be directly integratedwith undergarment 16, for example as a reinforced edge of thereof. Forexample, frictional band 28 may include a plurality of discrete pieces32 affixed to or embedded into undergarment 16 proximate the rearwardportions leg openings 24, 26. Preferably, the width of each discretepieces 32 are about ⅛ to ½ inches, but may vary in width beyond theaforementioned measurements.

The coefficient of friction between frictional band 28 and skin issufficient that frictional band 28 will grip (that is, frictionallyengage) the wearer's skin rather than glide smoothly across the wearer'sskin, thereby uplifting and extending the wearer's buttocks when shapingundergarment 10 is worn. By both uplifting and extending the wearer'sbuttocks, the appearance of the wearer's buttocks is enhanced andaugmented while preserving a natural (that is, unflattened) shape.

To create the desired friction, frictional band 28 is preferably apolymeric band or a band having a polymer coating or element on at leastpart of the surface adjacent the wearer's buttocks. By way of exampleonly, frictional band 28 may be entirely coated with a polymer, fullycoated with a polymer only on one surface, partially treated with apolymer on the surface adjacent the wearer's buttocks, or provided withone or more strips of polymeric tape on the surface adjacent thewearer's buttocks. Other methods of creating friction between frictionalband 28 and the wearer's buttocks, such as roughening the surface offrictional band 28 or applying an adhesive thereto, are alsocontemplated.

Frictional band 28 may be an elastic band. Where an elastic band isemployed, the elastic modulus of frictional band 28 can be selected toachieve a particularly desirable shaping of the wearer's buttocks. Thedegree of uplifting and shaping of the wearer's buttocks may be furtheradjusted by altering the coefficient of friction between frictional band28 and skin. Further, it is also contemplated that the width andthickness of frictional band 28 may be selected to achieve aparticularly aesthetically pleasing result.

In addition, anchor points for frictional band 28 (that is, the pointsat which frictional band 28 is attached to undergarment 16) and the pathof frictional band 28 may also be selected or adjusted to achieve aparticularly desirable shaping of the wearer's buttocks by effectivelypre-stressing frictional band 28. In some embodiments of the invention,fasteners 29 removably attach the ends of frictional band 28 toundergarment 16, for example adjacent hip regions 18, 20. By way ofexample only, fasteners 29 may be clasps, buttons, snaps, orhook-and-loop type fasteners 29. It should be understood that thecomponents of fasteners 29 may be attached to frictional band 28 andundergarment 16 in any configuration (e.g., there may be a single buttonon each end of frictional band 28 with multiple button holes onundergarment 16, a single button on each hip region 18, 20 and multiplebutton holes on either end of frictional band 28, a single button holeon each end of frictional band 28 and multiple button holes on each hipregion 18, 20, or a single button hole on each hip region 18, 20 andmultiple buttons on each end of frictional band 28). This permits thewearer to adjust frictional band 28 to achieve a customized, desirable,and comfortable degree of shaping and support, much as one would adjusta brassiere.

Thus, it should be understood from this disclosure and from practicingthe invention that various properties and characteristics (i.e., width,thickness, and coefficient of friction) of frictional band 28 may bespecifically selected, and the attachment of frictional band 28 toundergarment 16 specifically designed, so as to achieve aestheticallypleasing and comfortable results for the wearer.

To present a pleasing, finished appearance of shaping undergarment 10,frictional band 28 may be at least partially obscured from view. Incertain embodiments of shaping undergarment 10, frictional band 28 is atleast partially obscured, and preferably is totally obscured, by rearpanel 14. Such a configuration is shown adjacent second leg opening 26in FIG. 1 (a portion of frictional band 28 is shown in phantom hidden byrear panel 14). Alternatively, as shown adjacent first leg opening 24 inFIG. 1 (frictional band 28 is shown entirely in phantom), frictionalband 28 may be partially or totally obscured by a camouflaging feature30, such as a lace trim, attached to undergarment 16. The panty itselfmay also camouflage the frictional band 28 as the band(s) may bedirectly adhered to the underside of the panty along leg openings.Frictional band 28 may also be integrated with or attached tocamouflaging feature 30, for example by applying a polymer coating to orroughening one surface of camouflaging feature 30 or by selecting africtional band 28 that is also camouflaging. As with frictional band28, camouflaging feature 30 may be integrated with undergarment 16.

It should also be understood that coloring the frictional band 28 mayalso enhance the aesthetic appearance of the shaping undergarment 10.For example, where it is desired to hide frictional band 28 from view,it may be clear. Alternatively, frictional band 28 may be colored tomatch or contrast with undergarment 16 as desired.

To manufacture shaping undergarment 10, front panel 12 is attached torear panel 14 to form undergarment 16. Front panel 12 and rear panel 14may be joined along a seam or, as illustrated in FIG. 1, seamlessly.Frictional band 28 is then attached to undergarment 16, for example bysewing, gluing, taping, melt-processing, or another method, thoughintegrally forming frictional band 28 with undergarment 16 is regardedas within the spirit and scope of the present invention. As describedabove, frictional band 28 may be attached substantially continuously toundergarment 16 between first and second hip regions 18, 20, and, incertain embodiments, is a single continuous component, however, in thepreferred embodiment there are multiple strips/bands. As furtherdescribed above, either or both ends of frictional band 28 may beremovably attached to undergarment 16 using fasteners 29. If desired,camouflaging feature 30 may then be attached to undergarment 16. As withfrictional band 28, camouflaging feature may be sewn to or integrallyformed with undergarment 16, and may be either continuous ordiscontinuous, however, in the preferred embodiment, the strips areclear and totally hidden by the undergarment itself.

While the invention has been described in terms of its preferredembodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventioncan be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of theappended claims. For example, the present invention may be practicedequally well with any style of undergarment 16, including, but notlimited to, bikini and brief styles. Thus, it is intended that allmatter contained in the foregoing description or shown in theaccompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative rather thanlimiting, and that the invention should be defined only in accordancewith the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A shaping undergarment, comprising: a front panel; a rear panelconnected to said front panel and forming therewith an undergarmenthaving a first hip region and a second, opposite hip region; and africtional band attached to said undergarment and extending along atleast a portion of said rear panel between said first hip region andsaid second hip region.
 2. The shaping undergarment according to claim1, wherein said frictional band comprises a polymeric band.
 3. Theshaping undergarment according to claim 1, wherein said frictional bandcomprises a polymer-coated band.
 4. The shaping undergarment accordingto claim 1, wherein said frictional band extends substantiallycontinuously from said first hip region to said second hip region. 5.The shaping undergarment according to claim 1, wherein a segment of saidfrictional band extends adjacent at least one of a first leg opening insaid undergarment and a second leg opening in said undergarment.
 6. Theshaping undergarment according to claim 1, wherein said frictional bandis at least partially obscured from external view.
 7. The shapingundergarment according to claim 6, further comprising a camouflagingfeature at least partially obscuring said frictional band from externalview.
 8. The shaping undergarment according to claim 7, wherein saidfrictional band is integrated with said camouflaging feature
 9. Theshaping undergarment according to claim 1, wherein said first and secondhip regions are adjacent a waist opening of said undergarment.
 10. Theshaping undergarment according to claim 1, wherein an end of saidfrictional band is removably attached to said undergarment.
 11. Theshaping undergarment according to claim 1, wherein said frictional bandcomprises a elastic frictional band.
 12. A method of manufacturing ashaping undergarment, the method comprising: attaching a front panel toa rear panel, forming thereby an undergarment having a first hip regionand a second, opposite hip region; and attaching a frictional band tothe undergarment extending along at least a portion of the rear panelbetween the first hip region and the second hip region.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein attaching a frictional band to theundergarment comprises attaching a polymeric band to the undergarment.14. The method according to claim 12, wherein attaching a frictionalband to the undergarment comprises attaching a polymer-coated band tothe undergarment.
 15. The method according to claim 12, whereinattaching a frictional band to the undergarment comprises attaching asubstantially continuous frictional band to the undergarment between thefirst hip region and the second hip region.
 16. The method according toclaim 12, further comprising camouflaging at least a portion of thefrictional band from external view.
 17. The method according to claim16, wherein camouflaging at least a portion of the frictional band fromexternal view comprises attaching a camouflaging feature to theundergarment.
 18. The method according to claim 17, further comprisingintegrating the frictional band with the camouflaging feature.
 19. Themethod according to claim 12, wherein attaching a frictional band to theundergarment comprises removably attaching an end of the frictional bandto the undergarment.
 20. A buttocks-shaping clothing article,comprising: an undergarment; and means for frictionally engaging anduplifting a wearer's buttocks attached to a rear panel of saidundergarment.